Gurgling baby bottle

ABSTRACT

A toy baby bottle is disclosed which produces a simulated gurgling sound of an emptying bottle and a visual simulation of a lowering liquid level as the bottle empties. The bottle comprises a cylindrical housing having a base plate mounted at the lower end and a nipple cover mounted on the upper end. A shaft is concentrically located within the housing and extends along the entire length thereof. A vibrating hammer is mounted on the shaft and is axially movable thereon. The hammer comprises a sleeve having a bore formed therein for receiving the shaft. The bore is dimensioned slightly larger than the diameter of the shaft to enable the sleeve to wobble as it slides down the shaft toward the nipple during the inversion of the baby bottle. The hammer further includes a flexible arm extending radially outward from the sleeve with the extremity of the arm having a weighted element mounted thereon. A disc is also mounted on the shaft and is adapted to follow the hammer in its downward travel during the inversion of the baby bottle. The weighted element and arm assembly functions to vibrate as the sleeve is wobbling down the shaft and strike the speaker disc to produce the simulated gurgling sound. The disc is preferably made of rigid styrofoam and the bottom surface coated with aluminum foil to form a reflecting surface. The base plate includes a plurality of apertures formed thereon for admitting light and sound. The light reflecting onto the surface of the disc is emitted through a pair of translucent windows formed in the sides of the housing to simulate the varying liquid level of an emptying bottle.

United States Patent [191 Smith, III et al.

[ ,GURGLING BABY BOTTLE [75] Inventors: Jay Smith, III, Pacific Palisades,; Gerald W. Schmidt, Woodland Hills; Lawrence T. Jones, Pacific Palisades, all of Calif.

[73 Assignee: California R & D CenteL Pacfic Palisades, Calif.

[22] Filed: Jan. 11, 1972 211 Appl.No.: 216,996

Primary Examiner-Hugh R. Chambiee Assistant Examiner-Robert F. Cutting Attorney-Harold l... Jackson et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A toy baby bottle is disclosed which produces a simulated gurgling sound of an emptying bottle and a visual May 1, 1973 simulation of a lowering liquid level as the bottle empties. The bottle comprises a cylindrical housing having a base plate mounted at the lower end and a nipple cover mounted on the upper end. A shaft is concentrically located within the housing and extends along the entire length thereof. A vibrating hammer is mounted on the shaft and is axially movable thereon. The hammer comprises a sleeve having a bore formed therein for receiving the shaft. The bore is dimensioned slightly larger than the diameter of the shaft to enable the sleeve to wobble as it slides down the shaft toward the nipple during the inversion of the baby bottle. The hammer further includes a flexible arm extending radially outward from the sleeve with the extremity of the arm having a weighted element mounted thereon. A disc is also mounted on the shaft and is adapted to follow the hammer in its downward travel during the inversion of the baby bottle. The weighted element and arm assembly functions to vibrate as the sleeve is wobbling down the shaft and strike the speaker disc to produce the simulated gurgling sound. The disc is preferably made of rigid styrofoam and the bottom surface coated with aluminum foil. to form a reflecting surface. The base plate includes a plurality of apertures formed thereon for admitting light and sound. The light reflecting onto the surface of the disc is emitted through a pair of translucent windows formed in the sides of the housing to simulate the varying liquid level of an emptying bottle.

10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures Patented May 1, 1973 3,729,859

GURGLING BABY BO'I'I'LE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION l Field of the Invention The present invention relates to toys and more particularly to toys having sound simulators incorporated therein.

2. Description of the Prior Art There are various ways of producing sound simulations in toys.

One increasingly popular type is sound recordings, which are particularly used in sound boxes and baby dolls. Although such a method can be used advantageously to reproduce the human voice, its high relative cost renders it impractical for utilization in simple and inexpensive toys.

Another method of simulating sounds in toys is the rotating ratchet. The sounds produced by this method are particularly adapted for utilization in baby toys. However, such a method is severely limited in the types of sound produced.

The particular problem confronting the present inventors was to develop a toy baby bottle producing a simulated gurgling sound of an emptying baby bottle. The first two methods described above are impractical for such simulations, either because of the high cost of the recording assembly or because the ratchet cannot produce the desired sound. A method of accomplishing V this would involve passing a fluid through a compartment such as a hidden tube. Although this would be visually acceptable, the produced sound would not be loud enough to be audible.

Another method would be pass a plurality of balls through a series of apertured plates. However, the soundsimulation would not be authentic enough to simulate a gurgling sound.

The inventors were also faced with the problem of producing a toy baby bottle which visually simulates the dropping liquid level of the bottle. With the possible exception of the moving fluid, none of the above methods could effectively produce such a visual simu lation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention obviates the above-mentioned shortcomings by providing a toy baby bottle having means for effectively producing a simulated gurgling sound of an emptying bottle, and for producing a simulated visual effect of the dropping liquid level.

The toy baby bottle comprises a cylindrical housing having a base plate mounted at the lower end and a nipple cover mounted on the upper end. A shaft is concentrically positioned within the housing. The sound simulation means comprises a vibrating hammer mounted on the sleeve and axially movable thereon.

A speaker plate is also slidably mounted on the shaft directly below the hammer. The hammer is adapted to strike the speaker plate as they travel down the shaft when the bottle is turned upside down. This Striking sound produces the simulated gurgling sound which is transmitted through the bottom end of the bottle. The means for producing the simulated visual effect of a dropping liquid level comprises a reflecting surface formed on the bottom of said speaker plate to reflect light emitted through the base plate out through a translucent window formed in the side wall of the bottle housing. This reflected light will travel down the housing as the speaker moves toward the upper end to visually simulate the movement of the lowering liquid level.

0 further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the toy baby bottle of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the toy baby bottle taken along lines 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the baby bottle illustrating the apertured base plate;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the hammer assembly;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of the bottom end of the toy baby bottle; and

I FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view of the upper end of the toy baby bottle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a toy baby bottle, generally indicated by arrow 10, which comprises a cylindrical housing 11 having a 'cap member 13 secured to the lower end thereof and a hip ple cover 15 mounted on the upper end. Various illustrations are placed on the housing 11 which do not form any part of the present invention. The housing 1 1 also includes at least one elongated window 17 formed thereon with a layer of translucent material 19 extending over each window 17. A plurality of numerals is positioned alongside the window 17 to indicate, in ounces, the amount of liquid contained therein.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a shaft 21 is concentrically positioned within the bottle housing 11 and extends along the entire length thereof to be connected at the bottom end to a base plate 23 and at the upper end to the nipple cover 15.

A hammer assembly 25 is mounted on the shaft and is axially movable thereon. The hammer assembly 25 comprises a sleeve 27 having a bore 29 formed therein for receiving the shaft 21. A cantilevered, resilient arm 31 extends radially outward from the sleeve 27 andhas a weighted element 33 mounted on its outer extremity. The bore 29 of the sleeve 27 is dimensioned to be slightly larger than the diameter of the shaft 21 to enable the sleeve 27 to wobble as it traverses the shaft. This wobbling movement is accomplished because the center of gravity of the assembly is not in the planeof the sleeve 27. This causes the sleeve 27 to tilt in the direction of the weighted element 33. However, since the element 33 is resiliently supported, it tends to spring upwardly after descent to cause the sleeve 27 to tilt in the other direction. This cycle is, of course, repeated to cause a wobbly movement to enable the sleeve 27 to ride down the shaft 21. In the preferred embodiment this wobbling traversal is accomplished when the baby bottle 10 is turned upside down.

A speaker plate 35 is also slidably mounted on the shaft 21 directly below the hammer assembly 25. The speaker plate 35 is in the form of an apertured disc made of a cellular material such as styrofoam. The bore 37 of the speaker plate 35 is dimensioned to be sufficiently larger than the diameter of the shaft 21 to enable it to slide freely down the shaft 21 and also to enable it to extend cover an enlarged stop 39 mounted on the base plate 23. (See FIG. 5). The bottom surface of the speaker plate 35 has a layer of aluminum foil 41 or other suitable reflective material mounted thereon.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the base plate 23 has a plurality of apertures 43 extending therethrough to admit a light into the interior of the housing 11 and permit any sound generated within the housing 11 to pass outwardly therethrough.

OPERATION In operating the toy baby bottle to produce a simulated gurgling sound, the bottle 10 is first placed in an upright position as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In this position, the speaker plate 35 rests at the bottom end .of the bottle 10 extending over the return stop 39 as shown in FIG. 5. In this position, the sleeve 27 of the hammer assembly 25 rests on the upper shoulders formed by the return stop 39 to enable the arm 31 to extend radially outward in a horizontal position and to enable the weighted element 31 to rest on the speaker plate 35.

The baby bottle 10 is then turned upside down in a manner similar to placing the bottle into a toy baby dolls mouth. Once in this inverted position, the sleeve 27 starts to traverse the shaft 21 in a wobbly motion. During this movement, the arm and weight assembly begins to oscillate. As the hammer assembly 25 is traversing the shaft 21, the speaker plate 35, which is now positioned on top of the hammer assembly 25, slides down the shaft and is struck by the vibrating weight 33. Because of the nature of the plate material, this striking of the plate produces a unique sound which simulates the gurgling sound of an emptying bottle. This movement and resultant sound continues until the hammer and speaker plate combination reach the end of the shaft 21 adjacent the nipple cover 15 as shown in FIG. 6. The bottle is then turned right side up and both elements return to the base of the bottle as shown in FIG. 5.

It should be noted that there are a number of factors which affect the performance of the sleeve as a vibrating member. The length and diameter of the bore 29 are of vital importance.

In the preferred embodiment, it is found that 0.095 diameter shaft and a 0.1 16 diameter bore approximately 3/16 inch long was an acceptable combination. The frequency with which the sleeve vibrates down the shaft is determined by the flexibility of the arm and the weight of the weighted element in combination with the bore sizes mentioned above.

As described earlier, a reflecting material, such as aluminum foil, is mounted on the bottom surface 41 of the speaker plate 35. This reflecting surface 41 reflects light that is admitted through the apertured base plate 23 out through the translucent window 17. Since the speaker plate 35 is traveling downward when the bottle is inverted, this reflecting light creates an illusion of the dropping liquid level of an emptying bottle. It is important to note that the translucency of the window prevents the user from clearly identifying the structure within the housing 11.

As can be seen, a simple relatively inexpensive baby bottle is produced which effectively simulates a gurgling sound and visually simulates the lowering liquid level of an emptying baby bottle.

It should be noted that various modifications can be made to the apparatus while still remaining within the purview of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A toy baby bottle comprising:

a cylindrical housing having a base plate mounted at the lower end and a nipple cover mounted on the upper end;

a shaft concentrically located within said housing and extending along the entire length thereof;

means mounted on said shaft for producing a simulated gurgling sound of an emptying bottle as the bottle housing is turned upside down; and

means for producing a simulated visual effect of a dropping liquid level of an emptying bottle as the bottle housing is turned upside down.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said sound simulation means comprises:

a vibrating hammer mounted on said shaft axially movable thereon.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said sound simulation means further comprises:

a speaker plate mounted on said shaft and axially movable thereon, said speaker plate is located beneath said vibrating hammer and is adapted to be struck by said hammer as the hammer and speaker plate traverse the shaft during the inversion of the bottle housing.

4. The invention of claim 3 wherein said hammer comprises:

a central sleeve having a bore formed therein for receiving said shaft, said bore being slightly larger than the diameter of said shaft to enable the sleeve to wobble down the shaft as the bottle housing is turned upside down.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said hammer further comprises:

a flexible arm extending outward from said sleeve;

and

a weighted element mounted on the extremity of said arm, said weighted element and arm assembly functioning to vibrate as said sleeve is wobbling down said shaft during the inversion of the bottle housing.

6. The invention of claim 3 wherein said speaker plate comprises a disc of lightweight material.

7. The invention of claim 6 wherein said disc is made of styrofoam.

8. The invention of claim 3 wherein said means for producing a simulated visual effect comprises:

at least one translucent window formed in the side of said bottle housing;

means for admitting light through said base plate;

and

means on the bottom of said speaker plate for reflecting said admitted light through said translucent window.

9. The invention of claim 8 wherein said reflecting means comprises a sheet of aluminum foil mounted on the bottom surface of said speaker plate.

10. The invention of claim 9 wherein said means for admitting light through said base plate comprises a plurality of apertures extending through said base plate. 

1. A toy baby bottle comprising: a cylindrical housing having a base plate mounted at the lower end and a nipple cover mounted on the upper end; a shaft concentrically located within said housing and extending along the entire length thereof; means mounted on said shaft for producing a simulated gurgling sound of an emptying bottle as the bottle housing is turned upside down; and means for producing a simulated visual effect of a dropping liquid level of an emptying bottle as the bottle housing is turned upside down.
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said sound simulation means comprises: a vibrating hammer mounted on said shaft axially movable thereon.
 3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said sound simulation means further comprises: a speaker plate mounted on said shaft and axially movable thereon, said speaker plate is located beneath said vibrating hammer and is adapted to be struck by said hammer as the hammer and speaker plate traverse the shaft during the inversion of the bottle housing.
 4. The invention of claim 3 wherein said hammer comprises: a central sleeve having a bore formed therein for receiving said shaft, said bore being slightly larger than the diameter of said shaft to enable the sleeve to wobble down the shaft as the bottle housing is turned upside down.
 5. The invention of claim 4 wherein said hammer further comprises: a flexible arm extending outward from said sleeve; and a weighted element mounted on the extremity of said arm, said weighted element and arm assembly functioning to vibrate as said sleeve is wobbling down said shaft during the inversion of the bottle housing.
 6. The invention of claim 3 wherein said speaker plate comprises a disc of lightweight material.
 7. The invention of claim 6 wherein said disc is made of styrofoam.
 8. The invention of claim 3 wherein said means for producing a simulated visual effect comprises: at least one translucent window formed in the side of said bottle housing; means for admitting light through said base plate; and means on the bottom of said speaker plate for reflecting said admitted light through said translucent window.
 9. The invention of claim 8 wherein said reflecting means comprises a sheet of aluminum foil mounted on the bottom surface of said speaker plate.
 10. The invention of claim 9 wherein said means for admitting light through said base plate comprises a plurality of apertures extending through said base plate. 